New Girl: What Happened to the Schmidt We Knew and Loved?

Ever since Schmidt's (Max Greenfield) breakup with both Cece (Hannah Simone) and Elizabeth (Merritt Wever), he's become a neutered character who lacks the spectacular douche-jar worthiness that we all fell in love with from the beginning of the Fox comedy.

Schmidt has been especially off his game this season after his two-timing was discovered at the close of last year. Schmidt moved into his own apartment, but we've yet to see him take advantage of living alone with plenty of lady visitors. The old Schmidt would've broken in his bachelor digs already! (That is supposedly happening soon.) Schmidt also seems pretty aimless when it comes to his job, being tempted to dip his toe back in the old waters of Christmas tree selling, though that wasn't permanent either.

What happened to the guy who would do Parkour in the living room, or take off his shirt whenever ladies came around, or pretend to be the sixth Romney son, Tugg Romney? "He seems a little lost right now," Greenfield tells TVGuide.com. "It's almost as if you see him making attempts to reenter society or trying to find himself — or the old version of himself — but nothing seems to be sticking."

Still, Greenfield says it's been a new challenge for him this year playing a different side of Schmidt. "I think it'll be very rewarding when he does get it back," Greenfield says. "You hope that he finds somebody or something that redeems him in some sort of sense."

That's all well and good, but viewers are impatient for Schmidt to get back in the game. Get a string of flings coming in and out of that apartment. Hell, let him get all chubby again! Fat Schmidt is certainly more fun than this Schmidt has been.

What do you think? Do you miss fun Schmidt? Hit the comments!

New Girl airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Fox. The comedy will next air following the Super Bowl on Sunday.